I Run to You
by potterfan36041
Summary: The rangers thought that Kimberly and Jason had long been cured of the problems from Murianthius, but then there was Xanderien. Who was this man? And how did he plan on using what happened to his advantage?
1. Chapter 1

Blame it on fate, blame it on bad omens, blame it on the fact that neither of these four ever admitted their true love. The evil that came from Murianthius supposedly was crushed along with Divatox when the rangers destroyed all there that was evil. That, however, was not true. Jason and Kimberly, no matter how unaffected they seemed, lived with the daily reminders of what they had done and who they had done this to. That was something that he wished to capitalize on, that was something that would make him win this battle.

It was the fall of 2003 and all seemed to be well in the sleepy town of Shiland, North Carolina. Trini Kwan had recently begun working with a firm in the state capitol not far from there. She had never thought that this would be the life that she choose, not after years of 'service'. What kind of service? Well that was something she never really liked to think about, because it brought back far too many memories of things that she had done wrong, concerning one man in her life.

That man was Jason Lee Scott, her friend since elementary school and her true heart's desire. She knew that she would never have a chance with him and although they talked about once a week, she still held herself back from him, afraid to get too close and to be hurt when he decided to get married, which she figured would happen soon enough anyway. She, however, did not know of the events as of late and when she found out about them, it would almost be too late. He would almost be too far gone to be saved.

Ring…ring…ring…RING.

"Hello?" Trini asked as she looked over at her clock and let out an unhappy grumble. Who the hell would be calling her at two o'clock in the morning?

"Trini, this is Tommy," Tommy Oliver said, feeling that he needed to introduce himself. It had been a long time since he had talked to her, but what he was talking about was something that he knew she cared about. He knew that she would want to do something if she could to help him out here.

"Why are you calling me right now?" Trini asked as Tommy let out a very long sigh. He did not want to do this to her, he wanted to just try to take care of this on his own, but he couldn't. He was going to desperately need her help in order to make all of this work.

"Trini, there's a problem…" Tommy trailed off as Trini sat up and finally turned on the light.

"What kind of problem Tommy?" Trini asked as Tommy let out another sigh. This was something he had hoped he would never have to say again, but it was happening and it was so much like before. He just hoped that they were not lost, because he was having a hard time just trying to get one of them back.

"A Jason Kimberly problem," Tommy said as Trini was suddenly wide awake. "Trini, they've been turned evil and we've been fighting against them for the past month, but nothing is working. I need some help out here."

"Why do you think that I will be of any help? Kimberly will not come back for me, we both know that," Trini said as Tommy just shook his head.

"She is not the one that I want you to attempt to bring back. I need you to bring Jason back to us," Tommy said as Trini shook her head. She could not do this, no matter how much he wanted her to attempt it. It would hurt far too much to go there.

"He won't come back for me Tommy, we're only friends and you know good and damn well it takes much more than friendship to bring them back," Trini said as Tommy just shook his head.

"I think the unrequited love is what caused all of this mess. Tri…I'm begging you, can you just come and see what I'm talking about. If you still think you can't help, I won't make you do anything," Tommy said as Trini looked over at the calendar, knowing that the next day was Friday and that she could easily call in sick, the only problem was she didn't want to. She didn't know if she could face Jason like this.

"I don't know…" Trini trailed off as Tommy shook his head.

"I have tried everything in my power to get them back, but Kim is not coming back without Jason. Trini, I think that you are the only one that can reach him," Tommy said as Trini let out a sigh.

"How am I going to get there?" Trini asked as Tommy looked around the Command Center to see what Billy's response would be to that.

"I can always teleport her, Tommy," Billy said as Tommy nodded and then turned to the telephone, he doubted that she was going to really love that answer.

"We'll teleport you if you want," Tommy said as Trini barely nodded.

"Let me gather together some things and then I'll call you when I'm ready," Trini said as Tommy nodded.

"All right, Trini," Tommy said as he hung up and he looked over at Billy.

"She has no idea how bad this is going to be, Tommy," Billy said as Tommy just shook his own head.

"I tried as best as I could to explain it to her, but she doesn't want to deal with the truth. I know how much she cares for Jase, now we just have to hope that somewhere down inside of him, he cares for her just as much," Tommy said as Billy nodded. They both knew that this was going to be their last resort, if this did not work they would lose the two of them forever.


	2. Chapter 2

"Tommy, you still haven't really explained this to me," Trini said as she landed in the room and looked around at all of the people gathered there. She did not recognize several of the people, but she knew that they must have been rangers at some point in time.

"Well, it all started on Murianthius," Tommy said as Trini looked over at him.

"The last time that they were evil? Come on, how could that effect them now? That was something like eight, ten years ago, how the hell is this happening?" Trini yelled as Tommy and Billy exchanged a glance.

"It was not a complete cure, Trini. No matter how much we thought that everything was solved, they were pulled back into it by some freaking monster that I'm not even sure the name of. Trini we are up shit creek right now," Tommy said as Trini stared at him, scared to death. She knew that getting them back was going to be a hell of a fight. Jason was one of the most stubborn people that she knew and the most stubborn was Kimberly, so this was not going to be pleasant. "I need you…there is no way I'll be able to do this without you."

"What am I going to have to do?" Trini asked as Tommy handed her a communicator. "I'm going to be a ranger again?"

"No…I don't have enough powers for that…what I do have is the ability to teleport you and myself. We have to go to them," Tommy said as Trini just shook her head. "They'll be in there if this doesn't work."

"Newbies? Tommy you have to be kidding, they have no clue what Kim and Jason are like…" Trini trailed off as Conner cleared his throat.

"We're the ones that have been facing them for the past month…like hell we don't know what they're like," Conner said as Trini straightened up and covered her face.

"The last month? Tommy, Jason hasn't acted any different towards me when I've called him," Trini said as Tommy nodded, when he was alone with Kimberly, it was very much like the evil was not in her either. The problem was, when they were together, the evil bonded to their spirit and they fought them with a vengeance.

"I'm sure, Kimberly is perfectly peaceable, except when she is with Jason. Trini, we have to fight something that is not really concrete," Tommy said as the alarm sounded in the Command Center and Trini looked over at the screens and closed her eyes to try to fight what her heart was telling her was happening.

"How can I get to him?" Trini asked as Tommy looked over at her and saw the determination in her eyes. "I'm not losing Jason to that, even if we're just friends."

"Just friends my foot," Billy muttered under his breath as Trini looked back over at him and he smiled innocently enough. He did not want for her to let out any of her aggressions on him at this moment.

"Come on…but let me warn you this isn't going to be pretty," Tommy said as Trini nodded that she understood. She knew that things in the ranger world were seldom pretty, especially when it came to evil rangers.

* * *

"Him again," Kimberly muttered as she stood up and walked to the entrance of the cave, pulling back on her t-shirt as Jason let out a groan of displeasure. It always seemed that there was some disturbance to come along just when they wanted most to be alone. "What does the bastard want this time?"

"Your heart Kimmie, haven't you figured it out by now?" Jason said as he pulled up his jeans, aggravated that they had been interrupted yet again.

"My heart will never belong to that bastard…after all I did to try to love him…he just keeps me away," Kim said, bitterly, as they emerged from the cave and were faced with not only Tommy, but for the first time Trini as well. They had suspected that she would eventually show up, but they had thought they still had a few more weeks to play with before she arrived. "We have a new bitch to play with."

"You mean I have a new bitch to play with…you run along and have fun with Tommy," Jason said as Kim snarled and then headed for Tommy. Trini had never quite seen Jason look like this before and she was sure that this spelled out disaster for her. She was not prepared to deal with him now, but she knew she had to put forth her best effort. She couldn't lose Jason just because she was afraid of what she would have to say to bring him back.

"Jase…listen to me…" Trini pleaded as he headed towards her, eyes ablaze.

"Why should I listen to you Trini? All you have ever done is throw me to the side…now I can have something better…" Jason snarled as he reached out to smack her, but she firmly grabbed his arm and felt the strength leave it.

"You are not ever going to get over me," Trini said as Jason stared at her…it seemed that with the both of them there that Kim and Jason could bring themselves out of the fog.

"Why would you say that?" Jason asked, dropping the evil as quickly as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Jase, what's going on?" Trini asked, bluntly, as he looked at her and then his eyes narrowed. He had hoped to be able to pull her over to his side, but it was obvious that she was not going to come. "What do I have to do to get you back?"

"You'll never get me back now, Trini…you don't care enough to do what would have to be done," Jason said as Trini released his arm as she only stared at him.

"I don't care? Why the hell would I be here if I didn't care?" Trini yelled as Jason looked down at her.

"To please your lover boy…" Jason said nodding towards Tommy and her eyes widened. Whatever this monster had done had messed him up more than anything else that she had ever seen.

"Tommy is a friend, your best friend, he'd never do something like that and you wouldn't do this to him either if you'd just come back to yourself," Trini said as she looked over at the other two, who had stopped talking and were now fighting in honest, although Tommy took every chance that he could to wrap her up in a hug and force her to listen to words of caring. He just hoped that it would break her out of it sometime soon. He couldn't continue to live his nights with dreams of her coming back to him and to be greeted with this reality each morning.

"And I was only a friend as well…you'd never let me be anything more than that," Jason said as he slapped her to the ground and she fell with a thump, but managed to push herself back up.

"You never asked…if you had things would be different…you are just as much at fault as I am…" Trini growled as the tears flowed from her eyes. She could tell that her left arm was of no use to her now, as he had popped the shoulder out of socket, but she had to keep him distracted. Keep him talking, hoping that she would find somewhere within him the Jason that he used to be. "I'd still have in you a moment, Jason."

"But you are too late…" Jason said pulling her dangerously close, before slinging her away and this time Tommy landed beside her in a pile as well.

"We have to get out of here," Tommy said as Trini barely nodded as the pain continued to escalate and she desperately tried to hold in her tears. "You okay?"

"He knocked my left shoulder out of place," Trini said as Tommy shielded her from another blow that had been headed her way and then grabbed a hold of her so that they could teleport away.

* * *

"That was not what I hoped for," Billy said as Trini crumpled to the floor in pain. "I'll set it right, Tri…"

"What the hell!" Trini yelled out as all of the rangers looked at her and Billy took a step back. "Why the hell would he even think that?"

"You both have denied yourselves of what would make you truly happy. Now this evil has found a way to use Kim and Jason against you by playing at that insecurity," Billy said, calmly as Trini stared up at him with a tear stained face as she just shook her head.

"I love him…only him…" Trini managed as another sob racked her body and he reached down and quickly popped her shoulder back into place, which caused her to yell out, but the pain then fell away.

"Maybe you should tell him that, not me," Billy said as Trini looked over at him and smacked him hard on the side of his face.

"Don't tell me that…" Trini said, deathly serious as Tommy and Billy stared at her, scared at how she was reacting. "If he doesn't come back to me when I say that…I might as well go ahead and join him."

"Tri, don't say that," Tommy said as Trini looked up at him and then stood up.

"Well what do you suggest Tommy, because I didn't see your solution working either," Trini said as Tommy stared at her.

"Tri, we both have to convince them…I've been working on Kim a lot longer and when she's not with Jason I can reach her. We just need you to reach him now," Tommy said as Trini sat down on the couch and sobbed. That was the one thing that she was not sure that she would be able to accomplish. He was far too distant from her and she didn't know if she would be able to bring him back.


	3. Chapter 3

Trini looked around her home, trying to bring herself to do what was needed. She had called into work that morning, supposedly sick, but that was not the real reason for her absence. Her left arm was all but useless as the pain continued to come and go and she now had a very limited range of motion. Billy had said that there was the possibility that her arm would react this way, but she had hoped he would be wrong. She was going to need her body to be in top condition before she confronted Jason again.

The last night had taken so much out of her, as she had never seen him be so angry and so purposefully hateful towards her. It was as if she had purposefully broken his heart, but they had never even dated. They were friends throughout high school and the Peace Conference. Nothing had changed between them, they both knew it, so why was it that he was centering all of this on a love that had never been?

Sure there had been times when she had thought about the two of them being together, but this was the first time that Jason had even made an inkling that he liked her. He was evil, but she knew that a lot of times evil brought out repressed emotions and problems that the rangers had believed to be long gone. Kimberly turning on Tommy was something that could almost be expected when she was evil, but Jason's reaction to her was something that she had never thought she would see. She had always been able to reach him before, but now she could not do it this time. He was held further away from her than he had ever been before and somehow she had caused that.

She knew that she needed to do some soul searching in order to be able to try to reach Jason. The next time she went in there, she had to be willing to bare her soul and hope that he would react to that. But what was in her soul and why would he hold such a deep connection to it? Again she pondered their relationship, which had never been more than friendship. Why would he react like this to her and why would Tommy call her in? What made him think that she would be able to make a difference in all of this?

That was where she was fooling herself and she knew it. Jason had meant much more to her than just a mere friend, but she had never said anything to him. She had feared that he would not see her in that light, that she would always be second string to someone like Emily or even Kimberly. If she had only said something they would not be here now, but she hadn't and now she had to figure a way to get them out of this. The problem was she did not want to tell him what she felt for him. She was scared that if she ever did that, she would lose Jason…in every way and she could not stand that idea.

* * *

"What do you think that she's going to do?" Billy asked as Tommy looked over at him and shrugged his shoulders. He had been on the ropes about how well Trini was going to take all of this and at this point she had taken it as he expected. She was trying to regroup, but he knew this was going to be hard for her. At least he and Kimberly had been open at one time about how they felt, the fact that they weren't now didn't matter. It was easier for him to lay himself out there since he had already lost her once before. He just didn't really like the idea of bringing her back just to lose her again.

"She's going to do some thinking and then come back out here and help us all that she can. It's all that we can expect from her…she's got it rough Billy. Jason hadn't even given her a clue that he was evil until yesterday," Tommy said as Billy just shook his head. He hated hearing those words and knowing that it spelled out disaster for Trini.

"I don't like this Tommy," Billy said as Tommy looked over at him.

"I don't either, but I can't imagine losing the both of them to some evil bastard, so we've got to try this and just see what happens, hopefully it'll get better and she'll be able to reach him soon," Tommy said as Billy nodded. They had both seen this too many times before and knew exactly how long the road was ahead of them.

"But you now have to focus on Kimberly. If one of them comes around without the other, we know they're not coming back. We've both seen it too many times with Kimberly," Billy said as Tommy sighed.

"I've done everything that I can Billy," Tommy said as Billy glared at him. He could not be serious in thinking that he would buy that crap.

"I'm going to give you the same advice I gave her. You need to tell Kim that you love her, because flirting around that is not helping you any Tommy," Billy said as Tommy just shook his head and walked towards the exit. He did not want to face that, but he knew that he could do it. He had said it to her before and he was more than willing to say it to her again. He just wanted it to be at the right time, when they actually cared for each other again, not when they were fighting to bring them back to the good side.

"Do you think that they'll actually manage it?" Conner asked as Billy looked over at the young ranger and just shrugged his shoulders. He had no clue, but if anyone could do it, it would be Tommy and Trini.

"Go home and get a good night of sleep, Tommy and Trini will try again tomorrow and the next day and the next, until they come back to them or this character let's go of all of this," Billy said as Kira looked up at Conner and he just shook his head. This was not the type of news they wanted to hear. They had thought that it would be a quick fix, but it obviously was not going to be that way. They were going to have to wait for the results this time.


	4. Chapter 4

"Trini…wake up sweetie…" Jason whispered as he gently shook her shoulder and she jerked awake.

"What are you doing here? What do you want?" Trini said jumping away from him and he stared at her in shock. She had never acted like this before, so he was wondering what he had done, which was part of the reason he was here. He couldn't remember much of anything lately and he was hoping that she could explain it. He didn't trust anyone else to tell him what had been going on with his life.

"Trini, there's nothing wrong with me…" Jason said, completely confused as to why she was reacting to him like that.

"Then why did you act like that when you were with Kim this morning?" Trini asked as she scooted away from him and placed a pillow between the two of them, although that did not make her feel any better, she was sure that he could kill her at only a moment's notice. He desperately wanted to see her and had no clue what she was talking about. Was there something that had been going on that he didn't know about?

"Trini, I haven't seen you in months…I thought that you would be glad to see me," Jason said as he reached up and touched her left shoulder and she let out a loud groan. "What's wrong?"

"You pulled my shoulder out of place earlier today. How can you not remember that?" Trini asked as he stared at her with wide eyes. He had no recollection of that happening, but he was not remembering a lot that was going on lately. That was mainly why he was here, he wanted her to help him.

"Actually that's the main reason I came. I can't remember a lot of what I've been doing lately, especially if Kim is around…Tri, what's going on?" Jason begged as she looked over at him as the tears started to flow.

"Jase, you're evil. There is some being that has made you and Kim evil when you are together. I guess that…Jase, me and Tommy are trying, but we don't know how to reach either of you. You're not coming to us," Trini said as he reached over and placed both of his arms around her and she cried on his shoulder. She had missed him holding her like this and forgot for the moment that the man next to her was a ticking time bomb, right now he was only her best friend and the comforter of her soul.

"What is your heart telling you?" Jason asked as she looked up at him. She thought that he was going to suddenly snap out of this and go crazy. "I believe you Tri…I came because I needed answers. This isn't what I thought it would be, but it makes sense."

"So you can't fight it? You can't help us out some?" Trini asked as Jason shrugged his shoulders. He was not sure what he could do, but he hoped that this conversation would stay with him and he would be able to help her. "Today you acted like you didn't even know me, much less actually care about me."

"You know how things like this go…if the link is Kimberly, then maybe I should just stay away from her," Jason said as Trini looked up at him, knowing that that was only a temporary solution.

"Jason Lee Scott, you cannot stay away from Kimberly, anymore than I can stay away from Billy. The two of you have been friends for so long that you'll eventually miss each other and then it'll come back full force," Trini said as Jason hung his head in shame. He had not wanted to hear something like that from her. He was willing to give up his friendship to keep the others safe, but he knew that she was right. There would be some day when the two of them would meet again and it would come back full force.

"I guess that you are going to have to do the only thing that you can," Jason said as Trini stared over at him, slightly shocked by what he was saying. "You are going to just have to keep trying and keep telling me how much you care, even if it hurts, even if I act like I don't care back. You will bring me out of this Trini, if anyone can it's you."

"When are you leaving?" Trini asked as Jason shrugged his shoulders. He knew that she was likely to wake up the next morning and he would be gone because of this damn evil that was somehow possessing him when he was with Kimberly.

"I'm not sure, do you want me to go now?" Jason asked as Trini shook her head no and he reached over for her and she threw her good arm around him in a fierce hug. "I will come back to you, you just have to keep at it. I love you, Tri, don't forget it."

"Love me?" Trini asked as Jason gave her a sheepish smile.

"Yeah, but obviously my evil self hasn't come to that conclusion yet. You have to keep trying, I don't want to be separated form you forever because of this," Jason said as he started fading away and she reached out to grab his hand. "I'll come back to you Trini, I promise."

"Why?" Trini yelled throwing her head back as she yelled up towards the sky, hoping that there would be some sort of answer for her, but nothing came other than the silence of the southern autumn night.

"I think that we have frustrated them enough for one week," Xanderien said as he placed Kimberly and Jason back in their cells for another dose of the evil inducing air. As long as they had their daily dose, they would stay evil. Nothing that Trini or Tommy did to bring them back would work.

"You know that these rangers have always managed to bring people back from being evil," Stanton remarked, nonchalantly, as Xanderien looked over at him and just shook his head.

"No one has ever been as powerful as I am, they will not go back to their rangers until they have destroyed them all," Xanderien said as the sleeping Kim and Jason inhaled the air that had betrayed them and he smiled. The plan that he had been working on since that fateful day seven years was finally coming to fruition and now the rangers would pay. It was only right that they did after everything that they had taken away from him.


	5. Chapter 5

"He did what?" Tommy asked as Trini retold her story, yet again, hoping that maybe Tommy would be able to help her figure it out.

Billy had only stared in shock and Tommy was not doing much better. Neither of them could believe that Jason would visit her and not physically harm her. Kim had come to Tommy in the beginning, but even then it had been uncomfortable. They were not exactly on the best of terms and now he was having to try to save her, but that was another story. He knew that he would eventually have to face all the years that they ignored each other, but right now he just wanted to know that she was all right and back on his side.

It was different with Trini and Jason; they were friends, they still got along. It almost made sense that he would reach out like this, but why wait so long? He had been like this for almost a month, but Trini had only recently been brought into the loop and that could explain some of it. Tommy had known about Kimberly since the beginning, Trini had only found out two days ago.

"I'm not going to repeat it again Tommy, what do you think it means?" Trini asked as he sat down next to her and just shook his head. He had no clue what it might mean, but he was not going to tell her that right now.

"I think it means that you have a better chance with him than I have with Kim. Tri…we've got to keep trying," Tommy said as Trini just shook her head. She was not happy right now, no one had any answers for her and this was just becoming ridiculous. They had to know more than they were letting on…but she could almost see why they would keep it a secret if it was bad. They didn't want for her to give up hope on saving him.

"I already had figured that one out Tommy…what the hell else can we do to help them?" Trini yelled as Tommy looked at her, shocked that she was this upset.

"I don't know Trini, I really don't know…I've done everything short of telling her I love her," Tommy said as Trini looked over at him.

"You still have a problem admitting it after all of these years? Come on Tommy, everyone knows that you still love her; it only makes sense that it would take that to break her out of it," Trini said as Billy looked over at Trini and shook his head. There were things that he knew that certainly made him think that she needed to listen to her own advice.

"Yeah and it's the same thing with you, you just haven't noticed it yet," Billy said as Trini and Tommy looked at him, wondering what he was talking about. Billy had never exactly been one to skirt around the truth, especially when it was helpful. This time, however, he was doing just that and it was thoroughly pissing her off.

"What do you mean Billy?" Trini asked as Billy looked at her.

"You know good and damn well what I mean Trini, the question is whether or not you remember what I am talking about," Billy said as Trini stared at him. She had never so much as said anything to anyone about how she felt for Jason. "I take that as a no."

"Damn skippy it's a no," Trini said, utterly irritated with Billy at the moment. She had no clue what he could possibly be talking about.

"Peace Conference," Billy said as Trini looked over at him with wide eyes.

"We were stupid teenagers, Billy, we didn't know what we wanted, we just knew that we were both lonely," Trini said as Tommy looked between Trini and Billy, hoping to figure out what they were talking about.

"Exactly and you bonded there. Trini for him to help you through everything that you went through and you to do the same, you made a connection. The fact is that was much more than simply helping each other, this creature assumed correctly that you and Jason have a connection that goes deeper than you simply being friends. He knew there was someone out there Jason loved, he just may not have expected another ranger," Billy said as Trini just sighed. She did not want to have this conversation with him right now. She did not want to face the hard truth of it all.

"Tommy, we have a problem," Hayley said as she walked over to the three of them and Tommy looked down at her just shaking his head. "They're attacking Reefside again, we've got to do something, they're too powerful for our rangers."

"They're not too powerful for us, some part of them is still human," Trini said as Tommy looked down at her, after last night she knew better than anyone that Jason was still there, she just had to find a way to get to him.

* * *

"Feels so good," Jason said as he tossed the red ranger away from him with a laugh. When he had been a ranger, he had had real power, what these pipsqueaks had was nothing close to his powers. "And this is just the preview of what's to come."

"Jason…" Trini said as she landed behind him and he turned around to face her; a sneer on his face.

"You again, didn't you get enough last time?" Jason asked as Trini just shook her head.

"This isn't you, I need you to come back to me," Trini prompted as she placed her hands on each side of his head and he began shaking it in denial.

"You don't need me," Jason said, angrily, tossing her away from him and she landed with a dull thud and let out a groan of pain. Jason, however, looked back and then walked over to her.

"Jase, please don't," Trini said looking up at him, barely able to distinguish his form from the surrounding area.

"Don't what Trini?" Jason asked as he reached down and lifted her into a seated position, surprising all of the nearby rangers. It seemed that hurting her had actually affected him this time. It was as if he was being snapped out of the spell.

"Hurt me again," Trini said, promptly passing out and Jason looked down at her before looking around at the others.

"Tri…come on, come on stay with me," Jason said, gently shaking her shoulder as Conner, Kira, and Ethan looked over to see that Kim was no longer fighting Tommy, but clinging to him with all of her remaining strength. Something had brought the two of them out of their evil, but none of them knew what it was.

"What is happening?" Xanderien roared as he watched through the glass his two rangers apparently break out of the spell without any repercussions.

"You forgot to calculate one factor," Stanton said as Xanderien looked over at him, silently daring him to continue with pointing out his miscalculation. "You forgot the human factor…that they are not like us…they will forever be human and have those that when you wish to harm them mean more to them than even the evil can impose."

"They are mine," Xanderien said as he teleported into the scene and snatched Jason away from Trini. He would be damned if he did not have at least one evil ranger to play with.

"Jason!" Kimberly yelled as she tried to reach him, but was too late, he had already disappeared along with Xanderien.

"Jase…" Trini muttered as she shook her head from side to side as Kim and Tommy kneeled down next to her.

"Conner, go back to the command center, Hayley will be waiting for you there. Tell her and Billy to set up someplace to take care of the two of them," Tommy said as Kimberly stared over at him.

"Tommy, you can't…Trini will be the only one to bring him out of it," Kim said as Tommy just shook his head.

"And if you haven't noticed, she's currently unconscious, so I'm going to have to try to bring him back before he's made evil again," Tommy said as Kim barely nodded before he teleported away and she looked over at the young rangers. She was going to have a lot of explaining to do.


	6. Chapter 6

"You've got to let me go," Trini said as she sat up and the three adults shook their heads no. There was no way that they would let her put herself in that situation. She was likely to get herself killed if she did. Jason was far too strong and if he didn't come back for her, they were all afraid that he would kill her. He was certainly physically capable enough to do it and with the evil in him, they were afraid of it all. "Billy, you said it yourself, he's only going to come back for me. Why send Tommy in there and let him risk becoming evil himself? We can't lose him, you know exactly how strong he is and if he was to go to the other side, we wouldn't be able to make it."

"Tri, Tommy knows what he is doing," Kim said as Trini looked over at her. The only reason that she had come back to Tommy was thanks to Jason hurting her, so she just needed to remember that herself.

"Since when do you trust him again?" Trini snarled as Kim took a step backwards, she could see that this was affecting Trini more than they ever thought that it would. Obviously there was an unresolved issue between Trini and Jason, but no one really knew what it was or that it existed until recently.

"Trini, that's not the point…you're hurt, you don't need to go in there right now," Kim said as Trini stood up and walked straight over to Billy.

"Send me to him…" Trini demanded as Billy just stared down at her, in shock. She had never acted like this before, she had always taken into account her own health. "Damn it, Billy, you want Tommy to come back evil or do you want me to try to save Jason?"

"Okay, Tri…but you better know what you're doing," Billy said as he walked over and then teleported her away as Tommy teleported in.

"Oh god…" Tommy muttered as he collapsed to the ground and Kim walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, which he grabbed with a rough hand.

"Tommy…" Kim said tentatively, thinking that Trini might be right and that they were already too late to save Tommy from a similar fate.

"You're okay," Tommy said as he pulled her into a strong hug and she looked down at him in surprise. She had not heard so much relief in his voice in a very long time where she was concerned, it still made her heart skip a beat to think that he might care, but who was she fooling? Tommy no longer cared for her, she had ensured that ten years ago. "I was sure that when I came back, all I was going to see was that you were gone too. Where's Trini?"

"We sent her there," Billy said as Tommy stared up at him.

"He's going to kill her, Billy. What would make you do that?" Tommy asked, as he pushed himself to his feet and Billy shrugged his shoulders.

"He won't kill her Tommy, he can't…he's not physically capable of it," Kim said as Tommy looked over at her, wondering how she could make that statement so easily. He had been damn sure that she was going to kill him a couple of times during the last month and she had come pretty close to it. "No matter how hard it is to believe, I knew on some level that I could only harm you so much…he's done more than they wanted him to do to Trini. He's already feeling some guilt for that…give her a chance…she might just be what he needs."

"And what if you're wrong?" Tommy asked as Kim looked up at him. She did not really want to think about that possibility, she knew that if she was wrong, this was going to kill Trini.

"I don't know what we'll do then, but if you don't let her try, we'll never know what might have been," Kim said as Tommy barely nodded. Although he hated to let this happen, he knew that he had to in order to save his best friend.

* * *

"She'll be able to get him back," Stanton said as Xanderien looked over at him, hoping that he was not being honest. "Whatever you have planned with him, you need to do it now. There is no more waiting around for the perfect moment."

"It won't work if I only have one ranger, I need two of them to make this work," Xanderien said as a shimmer of light landed in his area and Xanderien laughed. It was funny to think that they would send another ranger to them, it was all that they would need to succeed at his plan.

"Jason?" Trini asked as Xanderien threw her to the floor and she landed with a dull thud. She had not thought that they would attack her and would leave her to Jason, obviously they had changed their way of thinking in the last few hours since he had been broken out of their spell once.

"I'll let him take care of her," Xanderien said as Jason walked in and smiled.

"I get my bitch back?" Jason asked as Xanderien nodded his head yes and Jason bent down and picked Trini up and carried her off.

"Maybe this will actually work," Xanderien said as he leered at the two of them and watched as they walked away.

"Jason…" Trini muttered as he dropped her rather roughly on his bed and she saw the look in his eyes, which scared her to death. She had seen it before and she was scared of what he would do to her. It was the kind of scary determination that he had when he had taken on Goldar and Lord Zedd, but now he had it with her as well. "Please don't…Jase…"

"Trini…you are mine now," Jason said leaning down next to her and she felt his breath against her ear. She was fighting to stay conscious, as she knew if she didn't Jason was going to do something that he would regret in the morning. "Come to my side."

"Jase, please, come back to me…I can't live without you," Trini said as he pressed her roughly against his bed and she looked up at him in shock. She did not know what was going through his mind, but she was sure that it was something that she did not want to deal with.

"You'll be mine either way, Trini," Jason said as she looked up at him, the thoughts that were going through her mind about what he was about to do scared her. From the position that they were in, she could tell that probably one thing was going through his mind and she had to talk him out of that, fast.

"Jase, please don't…please," Trini begged as he reached for her jeans and she stared up at him. "I love you…please Jase, don't…fight this…I know that you are not this person. You don't want to do this."

"You love me?" Jason muttered as she nodded her head yes and it took him a moment to realize what she was saying. It was as if he was being lifted from a fog to hear those words come out of her mouth. He suddenly realized that what he was doing was wrong, on some level, but he was not exactly sure why it was wrong. "You love me?"

"Yes, Jason and I want you back…I need you back…" Trini said as the tears started flowing and his eyes flashed red, but then went back to normal and it was as if everything cleared.

"Tri…what have I done?" Jason asked as he looked at her and she began sobbing.

"I was afraid that you would rape me, Jase," Trini whispered as he just stared at her. He could not believe that his evil self would go that far, but by looking at the position that they were in, he knew it to be the truth.

"Come on, I'll get you out of here," Jason said picking her up and then looking around. "Are they going to teleport you out?"

"I have no idea," Trini said as Xanderien walked in and saw that Jason was back to normal. "Get out of here Jase…"

"I'm not leaving you alone," Jason said as they felt themselves being teleported away and when they landed in the Command Center, Trini collapsed from the pain that she was feeling. "Tri…"

"Give them a minute," Tommy ordered as Billy looked over at him and then nodded as they herded the younger rangers out of the room and then left themselves. They knew that the two of them definitely needed a minute to get over everything that had happened and try to figure out exactly what where their relationship stood.


	7. Chapter 7

"Tri…" Jason whispered as he gently shook her and she looked up at him through half open eyes. All of the pain that she had forced herself to ignore was now hitting full force and she was fighting just to stay with him. She was not sure where they were, but she only knew that she was with him and that she was safe. He was no longer evil. "Come on, let me see those pretty eyes."

"Is it really you Jase?" Trini asked as Jason nodded his head yes and she could only will herself to crack her eyes open. There was something bigger at play here than her bringing Jason back from the brink of destruction and they both knew it. The question was would they talk about it now that he was safe once again? It was something that neither of them really wanted to discuss because they were both afraid of one thing: losing the other. "How did we wind up here?"

"I don't know, to tell you the truth, I barely remember the last few weeks really well," Jason said as Trini forced herself to sit up and face him, although she swayed and found herself lying in his arms.

"I've never been so scared in my life Jason and I trust you…I know that if you were normal you would have never thought of doing that. Why do I have such an effect on you Jase? Shouldn't Emily be the one that has this affect on you? Shouldn't she be the one that had to come save you?" Trini asked as Jason looked down at the floor before looking over at her. If he was going to admit this, then he knew that she deserved to at least be able to look him in the eye and see if he was lying to her.

"Emily may be my girlfriend, but she's not the girl that I care about the most in the world," Jason said as Trini looked over at him and just shook her head. "Have I already told you this or something?"

"In a way, but I don't think that you're going to say the thing what your half evil self said the other night," Trini said as Jason looked at her and then down at the floor. He hated that he couldn't remember it, but he was sure that Trini would clue him into it. "I guess neither of us is brave enough to admit it, since you're good again and I'm safe now. It's better to just leave things like this."

"Tri…" Jason started as Trini just shook her head and walked over to the teleportation module. She had to get out of here, because if she stayed any longer, there was a very good chance that she would lose her sanity.

"Don't Jase, it's better this way…" Trini trailed off as she quickly punched in the code and teleported herself away to her peaceful home, where she never had to worry about the burdens of being a ranger.

"Trini…" Jason said trying to grab her, but missing as she disappeared into thin air. "If I could only make it right I would. Just give me a chance! I'll set it all right!"

"You might not have much of a choice about that one, Jase," Kim said as she walked back down to the Command Center after hearing his exclamation and knowing that Trini had teleported herself away. They had all agreed that it would happen, but they had all secretly hoped that they would just talk this out amongst themselves without anyone having to push Jason to go after her. "That is the reason why they were able to get to us…Jase; the both of us have taken away so much from ourselves that we are susceptible to this kind of attack. If you don't resolve this, it could happen again."

"And what have you done so far to resolve it?" Jason asked as Kimberly looked at the floor and Jason then smirked. He knew that Kim was scared to death to talk to Tommy and try to convince him that they should be together again. The fact was, Tommy only wanted to be with her and if she would step out on that limb, he would gladly have her. "How about this…I'll do something when you finally decide to."

"Jason, that's not fair," Kim said as she looked up at him.

"It's plenty fair, because I know you well enough to know that you won't do it, so neither will I," Jason said as Kim glared at him and then stomped out of the Command Center, mad that he was right and that she was too chicken to just talk to Tommy. However, she knew that if she didn't there was absolutely no way that Jason would even think about talking to Trini. He didn't want to risk their friendship, that was the one constant that he had in his life.

* * *

"Jason, o god I've missed you!" Emily shrieked as she threw her arms around him in a joyous hug. She was used to Jason disappearing for weeks on end and then we he came back having some story about his friends being injured. She didn't believe that that was the real reason, but she had the feeling that she did not want to know the real reason for all of it. "What's been going on? I haven't been able to get in touch with you for weeks? Did something happen to one of your friends?"

"Yeah, Kim had an accident," Jason lied as Emily looked over at him with concern. His friend's had the absolute worst luck in the world and she could only hope that this would not end with one of them dying. Jason would only be a shell of himself if he were ever to lose any of them, especially Trini. She was the only person that Jason seemed to completely trust and although that bothered her, she knew that Jason loved her and that was what ultimately mattered.

"I'm so sorry, baby," Emily said as Jason let out a sigh and sat down on their couch as she sat down beside him and gently rubbed his back. "Is there anything that I can do?"

"I don't know, this time was different, Em," Jason said as Emily looked over at him, something about the way he said that made her worry about what was next to come. "I've got to get my head on straight before I can talk about it."

"Why would you have to do that?" Emily asked as Jason let out a long sigh. He knew that he was going to have to admit some of the truth to her, but he was now sure how much he could reveal without admitting the entire truth. Emily had never known about his involvement as a ranger and she never would know. She accepted that he had some secrets in his life and she even had some of her own, but it was nothing of this magnitude and he knew that all too well.

"I think that I might be just pulling you down a long road that will only lead to heartbreak," Jason said as Emily stared at him and he averted his eyes. He could not face her right now, not when he knew that what he was about to say was going to hurt her.

"Why would you say that?" Emily asked as Jason looked over at her.

"Because I think that I'm in love with someone else, but I've never had the guts to tell her and you don't deserve to be with someone that won't give you his full heart," Jason said as Emily looked over at him and just shook her head. To say that she had never seen this coming was a lie, but she had just thought that it would not take him this long to figure it all out.

"I know her, don't I?" Emily asked as Jason barely nodded his head yes. He knew that she could probably guess who it was if she just thought about it long enough. Anyone that knew him could figure out who he truly loved, he just didn't know why he had never seen it. "Jase, I love you, more than anyone that I have ever known, but I also know that you have to figure this out on your own. Take your time…I'll be here if you decide to come back and if you don't, I want an invitation to the wedding."

"Em…I never meant…" Jason started as Emily just shook her head and placed a finger over his lips.

"I know and if you have figured it out any sooner, then you would have done this sooner. Now, go figure it all out…go stay with Tommy for the weekend or the next few weeks, but figure it out. I don't want you to stay with me only because you are scared to jump out on a limb for the one you love more than me," Emily said as Jason gave her a bone crushing hug. He had been sure that he was heading for disaster by telling her this, but he had had to. The moment that he had left the Command Center, he had known what he would do, now he just had to hope that Trini would listen to him.


	8. Chapter 8

"What are you doing back so fast?" Tommy asked as Jason appeared on his front porch and Tommy gave him a confused look. He had been sure that Jason was going to go home to Emily and forget Trini, yet again. Obviously something had changed this time, something that he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"I needed to come back, I have to figure some things out," Jason said as Tommy barely nodded and then opened the door a little bit wider to allow Jason to follow him inside.

"You're not the only one, Jase," Tommy said as Jason looked over at him and Tommy let out a long sigh. He did not really want to go into what had happened, but he knew that Jason would pull it out of him one way or another. "I'm gonna have to talk to her, even if she doesn't want to. If I don't, things will go to hell quicker than you can say morphinaminal."

"Why would it go to hell?" Jason asked as Tommy looked over at him and then walked into the kitchen to grab them both beers. He was sure that they were going to need it after they were done here.

"Jase…you know how many years that I've sat here in this house by myself and thought about her? It's too many for me to count and then to have it thrown in my face that she can still become evil towards me because things were left unresolved…I can't take it anymore," Tommy said as Jason gratefully took his beer and then sat down next to Tommy on the couch, mimicking his posture, as leaned his elbows on his knees.

"So what are we going to do?" Jason asked as Tommy looked over at him. He had not thought that Jason would seek a solution this soon and then took a gulp of beer. He thought that they would be honestly trashed before they even got around to all of this and then they would only throw around bull shit comments before passing out to wake up with one hell of a hangover.

"We? I'm not even sure what I'm going to do, I can't give you any advice on what you should do. If you haven't noticed, this isn't my specialty," Tommy said as Jason let out a sigh.

"It's just that I don't know what she wants…it's different with the two of you. At one time you cared more about each other than anyone else in the world, but I never let her get that close to me, I always kept her away for fear that I'd lose her if she got that close," Jason said as Tommy looked over at him.

"Then you have a problem my friend," Tommy said as Jason decided to play along.

"What would tell you that?" Jason asked as Tommy smiled.

"The fact that you are here talking with me instead of talking to her," Tommy said as Jason opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it again. He had the distinct feeling that Tommy did not want to hear any excuses for his actions.

"Okay, so I'm a chicken," Jason said as Tommy barely nodded his head in agreement. "But what is your excuse?"

"I've already had my heart broken once by her, I'm not sure if I can stand to have it happen again," Tommy said as Jason sighed. He had never even given Trini the chance to do that, although he doubted that she would have.

"But that's no reason to not try again…you were both teenagers back then, things have changed and maybe you can make things work this time. It does help that you live on the same side of the country again," Jason said as Tommy looked over at him.

"Do you honestly believe that or are you just telling me that to get me off your case?" Tommy asked as Jason looked down at the floor. In all honesty it was a little bit of both, but he would never say that to him.

"I know that she still cares for you Tommy…" Jason trailed off as Tommy looked over at him.

"I went out on a limb for her last time, I'm not doing it again. If she wants to try to work things out then she will have to come to me on her own. I've given her more than enough chances Jase," Tommy said as Jason just sighed. They had all been trying for years to get the two of them back together, but they both stubbornly refused it. To the outside world they were madly in love, they just couldn't admit it to themselves. To those that knew them, it was another story. They knew that they loved each other and at one time had admitted it, but now they knew only disappointment and despair.

"I don't know if I would consider one chance as more than enough," Jason said as Tommy looked at him out of the corner of his eye.

"You're bull shitting me right? You haven't even given her the first chance and you are telling me that I should just give Kim another chance? Listen to yourself and tell me if it makes any sort of sense," Tommy said as Jason let out a sigh. He had not wanted to fight with Tommy, he had wanted to be able to just try to straighten out his thoughts.

"I just need to think about all of it some more," Jason said as Tommy shook his own head.

"You haven't been able to do that in all the time that you have known her?" Tommy asked as Jason just shook his head.

"It's different for me Tommy, by telling her I could lose her. You've already lost Kim before, I've never been without her and I don't know if I could survive that," Jason said as Tommy closed his mouth, recognizing that Jason was utterly confused about what to do.

"You won't lose her, Jase. The only way that that will happen is if you don't tell her the truth and just keep living like this. One day someone will realize what she is a beautiful woman and she'll realize it's the best that she can get, you don't want to live to see that day," Tommy said as Jason barely nodded. He had thought about it in the past, but now that it was being placed in front of him, he knew that he had only one choice. He had to catch the first plane that he could find to North Carolina and pray that she would hear him out. He couldn't lose her to another man, not after the revelation that he had had.


	9. Chapter 9

"Trini, how are feeling?" Bobby asked as Trini walked into her office early on Monday morning. She looked like death warmed over right now and he thought of telling her to go home, but she obviously wanted to be here.

"This weekend was rough, but I'll be fine," Trini said as she walked on towards her private office and closed the door behind her.

To be frank her weekend had been hell. She had thought of Jason so much that she had not even been able to sleep, but she knew that this was what she needed to do. She needed to stay away from him so that she could go back to just being friends with him. The fact was that although he had been evil, he had revealed more about his true feelings than he ever wanted to. She wanted him to be able to go back to Emily and have the happy life that he deserved. She would find a way to cope, somehow, she just didn't know how right now.

"Trini, you have a visitor," Bobby paged into her office an hour later as Trini looked up at the clock. Her first appointment was not due in until eleven o'clock and it was only 9:45. Who the hell would be here right now?

"Is it urgent?" Trini asked back in response as she rested her head against the desk. She hoped that in all honesty it wasn't and that she would be able to just tell this person to come back later.

"Hold on just a moment," Bobby said as he placed his hand over the receiver and looked up at the dark haired stranger. He had seen this man in pictures around her office and he was sure that if he was here it was urgent, but he had to ask anyway. "Do you really need to talk to her right now?"

"Yes, this is urgent," Jason said as Bobby looked down at the phone.

"He says yes," Bobby said as Trini let out a long sigh and then lifted her head from its position against the desk.

"Send him in Bobby," Trini said as Jason smiled. Although he could tell that she was not in the best mood in the world, she was at least willing to see him.

"She doesn't seem to be in a good mood today," Bobby said as Jason nodded.

He could tell that himself, but he had to see her. He was not sure that he could take another day wondering all the questions that were going through his head. He had to talk to her and even if this meant an end to their friendship, he would know exactly where he stood with her now.

"Hello, sir, what can I help you with?" Trini asked as she poured herself a glass of water before turning to face the man that had entered her office. As she did that, she dropped her glass of water, causing the glass to shatter into a million pieces. In front of her stood the man that had been haunting her dreams for the past week and she was not sure what to do at the moment. She wanted so much to run into his arms and wrap him up in a hug, but she also wanted to keep her distance. Her mind however did not have very long to process it as Jason wrapped her in a strong hug.

"Tri…" Jason whispered as he held her close to him and inhaled her scent. It had been so long since he had been able to hold her like this and he had missed this feeling. He had missed having this woman in his arms and knowing that she was only his. "I've missed you so much."

"What are you doing here?" Trini asked as he took a step back from her and then took in a deep breath. He knew that he had no way around this question, he was just going to have to tell her.

"I came to find out if I love you or not," Jason said looking down at the floor and Trini's mouth just fell open as she stared at him. This could not be happening, she had to be dreaming in some foreign land and she would wake up and all of this would just be a joke. Jason would not be here and she would be back in her normal world where he had not just said that sentence.

"Are you sure that I'm awake?" Trini asked as she sank to the floor and Jason looked at her as he sat down next to her.

"Yeah, I'm sure, Tri…" Jason said as she looked at him and then covered her face. "Tri, I have to know because I can't keep living like this, I can't keep hoping that one day you will just come to me and say that you care."

"But I do, you know that I love you like a friend," Trini said as Jason glared over at her.

"That is not what I am talking about and you know it," Jason said as Trini looked away from him. She was not ready to confront this subject, she just wanted to go back to her normal life. Where Jason would not dare to ask any of these questions and would just go about his life as if nothing had ever happened between them. "Trini, I have to figure this out and the only way I can is if you let me."

"And if I don't?" Trini asked as Jason looked over at her.

"I'll go back to California and keep living my life with Emily, but she is the one that told me to do this and she'll know if I come back that I didn't try," Jason said as Trini stared at him. "Everyone knew except the two of us how much we mean to each other. I always run to you Trini and I always will. There is absolutely no one that I would rather be with than you and you should know that by now. Give me a chance."

"Jason, I'm just not sure…" Trini trailed off as Jason reached over and kissed her gently.

"I understand…I guess that I have no choice but to go back," Jason said as he stood up and walked out of the room, dropping a piece of paper on the floor as he went. Trini, being her curious self, walked over and picked it up, thinking for a millisecond about whether or not she should even open it. Her curiosity, however, overtook her and she gently unfolded the piece of paper.

_There have been so many days _

_That I have been alone_

_There have been so many nights_

_With no one to call my own_

_Each time I see you_

_It makes my heart grow fonder_

_And each time I touch you_

_It makes the wait much longer_

_I've never been one _

_To jump out on a limb_

_But I'm jumping now,_

_Just hoping I can swim_

_A life without you in it_

_Is no life at all_

_So it makes me wonder_

_Was this worth the fall?_


	10. Chapter 10

"Jase, how are you?" Emily asked as he walked into their house and he just shook his head. He was no longer sure about what he wanted out of life, but he knew that he couldn't continue to live like this. Sure, he loved Emily, but it would never be in the same way that he loved Trini, now he just had to figure out if he could live with himself if he married her, instead of waiting for the one that he loved. Would it even be worth waiting for her when she seemed like she didn't care at all? Should he just try to move on or should he never give up on her?

"I'm going to take a trip out to the cabin this weekend…I need some time Em," Jason said as Emily barely nodded. She could tell that things had not gone quite as he had planned and she hated it for him. She hated to know that he was not happy with her, that he was living this life only because he couldn't have the one that he really wanted.

"Take all the time that you need, honey. Just come back when you have it all figured out," Emily said as Jason smiled over at her.

He could not believe that she was being this accepting of the fact that he was not sure about his feelings for her. He had been sure that she would throw him out the moment that he said something, but then he realized she must have seen this coming. Everyone must have, except them and they were the ones that desperately needed to figure it out and now that all was gone. Trini had chosen to pick the safe route that had nothing to do with him and he was now stuck here, all alone with a mind full of questions that would never be answered.

* * *

"Emily…" Trini trailed off as Emily opened that door and stared at her in shock. From the way that Jason had reacted this morning, it almost seemed as if Trini had told him that she never wanted to see him again. So why was she now standing in front of her looking scared to death? "How are you?"

"I'm all right Trini, but why are you here?" Emily asked as Trini looked down at her feet. She was not sure how to say this, especially to someone that she knew cared for Jason as well.

"I think that I've made a mistake," Trini said as Emily just nodded her head. She could see how hard this was for Trini, but she also knew that she couldn't help her say it. She was going to have to be willing to take that leap herself because it was hurting Emily enough to sit through all of this.

"What kind of mistake?" Emily asked as Trini looked up at her.

"The kind of mistake that you're lucky to ever get the opportunity to fix," Trini said as tears began forming. Although she knew that she would be sending her away to take away the one man that she devoted so much time to, she knew that she must do it, for both of their sakes. They deserved to be able to be happy, together.

"He's gone up to the cabin for the weekend," Emily said as Trini stared at her. How had she known that she was talking about Jason? Had Jason told her about his feelings? Had he confided in her the truth so that he would be more free?

"You're sure that…" Trini trailed of as Emily barely nodded.

"He doesn't love me nearly as much as he loves you…I just wish that the both of us would have seen it earlier, it would have saved us a lot of pain," Emily said as Trini barely nodded and then let out a sigh. "What's wrong?"

"I don't even know how to get to the cabin, he always drove when we went and I usually slept half the ride," Trini said as Emily passed her a list of directions and smiled.

"I kinda thought that you might show up sometime, so I was prepared," Emily stated as Trini threw her arms around her in a hug.

"Thank you, thank you so much, you have no clue what this means to me," Trini said as she let her go and Emily couldn't help but laugh.

"I think I might," Emily said as Trini barely nodded as she stood there on the porch just staring at Emily. She could not seem to wrap her mind around the fact that she was actually going to do this, she was actually going to tell Jason the truth. "What are you waiting for? Go!"

* * *

Jason sat at the edge of the pier, looking out at the calm lake. The first time that he came here was some ten years ago when Kimberly had broken Tommy's heart with that damn letter. Now he was here to try to find some healing for himself. He did not know how he had gotten to this place, where the one woman he desperately needed in his life, was also the one woman that he could not have. She had placed a sign on herself that said she was single, but not looking or more accurately not looking for him. He didn't know what to do, she was the one person that he could honestly imagine himself growing old with and now he could not have her in his life. She had chosen to let him stay with Emily, but Emily was not the person that he needed.

"Hey, what you doing up here?" Tommy asked as he walked down to the end of the pier and sat down next to Jason.

"I'm just thinking. How did I get in this situation?" Jason asked as Tommy rested his head against his palms. He felt the exact same way, but he was sure that Jason didn't want to hear that right now. He wanted to be able to get out his problems without having to deal with any of Tommy's. "How did I let her get away?"

"I'm guessing that it didn't go so good," Tommy said as Jason looked over at him.

"You could say that," Jason said as he pushed himself off the edge of the pier, into the water. "How did things go with you?"

"Well, after the hour of cursing at me, it got better, but she still…" Tommy trailed off as Jason barely nodded. He knew that if Tommy was here, things had not gone well for him as well.

"Did you bring the beer?" Jason asked as Tommy shook his head no. "Why not? We deserve to get drunk and go be somebody else for awhile, someone that isn't a damn ranger with a fucked up sex life because of it."

"How did you know?" Tommy asked as Jason just shook his head. He had known Kim and Tommy for too long to think that things had ever fully stopped between them. It all boiled down to Kim's fear of being left alone and Jason couldn't blame her after how things had gone with her father, but Tommy was not him and he somehow had to make her understand.

"I've been both of your friends for years, I can tell how much of a strain it is for the two of you and inevitably her trips or yours get cut short after a night when the two of you disappear alone. Tommy, you're not her father and she's just going to have to accept that or you are going to have to make her. It's different with me, I got myself into this by not paying attention when I was seventeen," Jason said as Tommy raked his hands through his hair. After all of these years protecting the earth, two of its greatest heroes sat there alone, without the ones that they truly loved, trying to figure out where things went so wrong.

"It's not like I've really helped the situation Jason," Tommy admitted as Jason lazily swam around.

"You're not telling me anything new," Jason said as he looked down the pier and saw another car pull up to the cabin. "Do you think any of the other guys have had as shitty of a week as us?"

"Who knows," Tommy said as Jason pulled himself back out of the water and blocked his eyes from the fading sun to try to see who it was that had come there as well. "That car doesn't look familiar though."

"Yeah, I know," Jason said squinting and still not able to make out much of anything. The figure that had exited the car was now walking towards the pier, actually to be more accurate running. It took Jason a few moments to recognize the figure, but once he had, he was absolutely speechless. He had been sure that she would never want to see him again.

"You okay?" Tommy asked as Jason just shook his head, more or less trying to clear his thoughts, as he had not even heard Tommy. "Jase…bro…something wrong?"

"Tri…" Jason muttered as he started walking down the pier, with Tommy looking at him, completely confused. Hadn't the two of them just been talking about how messed up their lives had turned out to be and now he was talking about Trini again?

She had never run so hard in her life. There had been times when she should definitely have ran this hard in the past, but she had never felt the proper motivation, but now the proper motivation was standing about fifty feet away from her. He stopped in his tracks as she slowed down slightly and stopped a few feet away from him. Now that she was here, she was not sure what to say, but she knew that she had to say something.

"Hey, Emily said that you were up here," Trini said lamely as Jason stared at her and she pulled a piece of paper out of her back pocket. "You dropped this when you left the other day, I thought you might want it back."

"You came all the way here for a poem?" Jason asked as he raised his eyebrow and Trini looked down at the ground.

"I run to you, that's all I've ever done, Jason," Trini said as he closed his eyes and smiled before throwing his arms around her and giving her a crushing kiss. The shock that the both of them felt was something that they had never experienced before. To have a life that was so in harmony with the other that it was frightening was what they had been looking for and now they had found it and it was all that they would ever need.


End file.
